THE CAUSE: Serve Cambodia

Posted by Sarah Clarke46sc on July 28, 2015

For as long as tax evasion continues at its current scale, public services cannot provide reliable support to vulnerable populations. ACCI projects are dealing with the effects of tax evasion, as they partner with communities who lack sustainable health or education services, and who lack protection and support for various vulnerabilities.

In Cambodia, multinational companies take advantage of weak regulations around taxation and company law to simultaneously exploit the labour force and evade taxation. This significantly reduces the government’s capacity to provide critical medical and social services to its citizens, which has the most devastating effect on already vulnerable populations including women and children.

ACCIR partner Serve Cambodia has worked in rural and urban parts of the country since 2010. Serve Cambodia is currently partnering with a government clinic to improve public health care services in two communities. They are supporting pre-existing services to become stronger and more sustainable through:

• increasing the size of a local medical clinic,

• improving the infrastructure,

• ensuring a hygienic environment, and

• improving the quality of medical equipment available.

In this way, local community members have easy access to effective primary healthcare. Serve Cambodia will also engage in health promotion in local communities by hiring a nurse as a health educator, providing various forms of health training, and assisting families to access care at local clinics and hospitals.